All (3) (3 results)

Shelter is the biggest expenditure most households make and its affordability can have an impact on the wellbeing of household members. For this reason, housing affordability is closely watched by a wide range of stakeholders - from housing advocates to policy analysts - interested in the welfare of Canadians. Measuring affordability involves comparing housing costs to a household's ability to meet them. One common measure is the shelter-cost-to-income-ratio (STIR). The 30% level is commonly accepted as the upper limit for affordable housing. Housing affordability is also a critical input to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's core housing need indicator which is used by governments to help design, deliver, fund and evaluate social housing programs. This report, jointly authored by Statistics Canada and CMHC, focuses purely on the dynamics of housing affordability, not on core housing need. It examines the likelihood of spending 30% or more of household income on shelter, how often this occurs, whether it is occasional or persistent, and contrasts those spending 30% or more to those spending less. Cross-sectional estimates indicate that around 19% of Canadians lived in households spending more than the affordability benchmark in 2002. Longitudinally however, less than 9% lived in households that spent above the benchmark in each year between 2002 and 2004, while another 19% lived in households spending above the benchmark for either one or two years. The attributes associated with the highest probabilities of living in a household spending above the affordability benchmark were: living alone, being a female lone parent, renting, being an immigrant, or living in Vancouver or Toronto. In addition, those living in households experiencing some kind of transition between 2002 and 2004 period had a higher probability of exceeding the benchmark at least once during the period. Such transitions included renters with a change in rent-subsidy status, those who changed from owner to renter or vice versa, those who changed family type (for example, marrying or divorcing), and those who moved between cities. Notably, those experiencing these transitions did not exceed the benchmark persistently.

This paper summarizes the data available from SLID on housing characteristics and shelter costs, with a special focus on the imputation methods used for this data. From 1994 to 2001, the survey covered only a few housing characteristics, primarily ownership status and dwelling type. In 2002, with the start of sponsorship from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), several other characteristics and detailed shelter costs were added to the survey. Several imputation methods were also introduced at that time, in order to replace missing values due to survey non-response and to provide utility costs, which contribute to total shelter costs. These methods take advantage of SLID's longitudinal design and also use data from other sources such as the Labour Force Survey and the Census. In June 2006, further improvements in the imputation methods were introduced for 2004 and applied to past years in a historical revision. This report also documents that revision.

For some time, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has used data on housing characteristics and housing-related expenditures from the Census of Population. Although the Census data source serves CMHC's purposes to a large extent, the federal government agency turned to the annual household surveys of Statistics Canada to provide information on a more frequent basis. This would allow them to have a better picture of annual trends, and perhaps have a greater choice of other characteristics with which to cross housing data on Canadian households. In 2001, CMHC began to sponsor additional content in both the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and the Survey of Household Spending (SHS), starting with reference year 2002.

Reference (3) (3 results)

Shelter is the biggest expenditure most households make and its affordability can have an impact on the wellbeing of household members. For this reason, housing affordability is closely watched by a wide range of stakeholders - from housing advocates to policy analysts - interested in the welfare of Canadians. Measuring affordability involves comparing housing costs to a household's ability to meet them. One common measure is the shelter-cost-to-income-ratio (STIR). The 30% level is commonly accepted as the upper limit for affordable housing. Housing affordability is also a critical input to Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation's core housing need indicator which is used by governments to help design, deliver, fund and evaluate social housing programs. This report, jointly authored by Statistics Canada and CMHC, focuses purely on the dynamics of housing affordability, not on core housing need. It examines the likelihood of spending 30% or more of household income on shelter, how often this occurs, whether it is occasional or persistent, and contrasts those spending 30% or more to those spending less. Cross-sectional estimates indicate that around 19% of Canadians lived in households spending more than the affordability benchmark in 2002. Longitudinally however, less than 9% lived in households that spent above the benchmark in each year between 2002 and 2004, while another 19% lived in households spending above the benchmark for either one or two years. The attributes associated with the highest probabilities of living in a household spending above the affordability benchmark were: living alone, being a female lone parent, renting, being an immigrant, or living in Vancouver or Toronto. In addition, those living in households experiencing some kind of transition between 2002 and 2004 period had a higher probability of exceeding the benchmark at least once during the period. Such transitions included renters with a change in rent-subsidy status, those who changed from owner to renter or vice versa, those who changed family type (for example, marrying or divorcing), and those who moved between cities. Notably, those experiencing these transitions did not exceed the benchmark persistently.

This paper summarizes the data available from SLID on housing characteristics and shelter costs, with a special focus on the imputation methods used for this data. From 1994 to 2001, the survey covered only a few housing characteristics, primarily ownership status and dwelling type. In 2002, with the start of sponsorship from Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), several other characteristics and detailed shelter costs were added to the survey. Several imputation methods were also introduced at that time, in order to replace missing values due to survey non-response and to provide utility costs, which contribute to total shelter costs. These methods take advantage of SLID's longitudinal design and also use data from other sources such as the Labour Force Survey and the Census. In June 2006, further improvements in the imputation methods were introduced for 2004 and applied to past years in a historical revision. This report also documents that revision.

For some time, Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) has used data on housing characteristics and housing-related expenditures from the Census of Population. Although the Census data source serves CMHC's purposes to a large extent, the federal government agency turned to the annual household surveys of Statistics Canada to provide information on a more frequent basis. This would allow them to have a better picture of annual trends, and perhaps have a greater choice of other characteristics with which to cross housing data on Canadian households. In 2001, CMHC began to sponsor additional content in both the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID) and the Survey of Household Spending (SHS), starting with reference year 2002.

Release date: 2005-07-22

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